34 DISEASES OF SWINE 



The Poland-China hog has one great advantage over the white 

 breeds, and especially the Chester-White, in that it is practically 

 free from the disagreeable skin diseases which so often attack 

 the white hogs. 



Question of Small Litters. — This is the principal argument 

 that has been offered against the Poland-China. In some respects 

 the claim of small litters seems to be substantiated by facts. 

 However, an investigation by the United States Government, made 

 a few years ago, showed that the number of pigs per litter of the 

 Poland-China breed was on the increase rather than the decrease. 

 The conditions under which the hog is kept in the Corn Belt 

 probably in large measure accounts for lack of prolific litters on 

 the part of not only the Poland-China but other breeds as well. 

 The change is more noticeable in the Poland-China, because they 

 have been longest kept under these conditions. In the average 

 Corn Belt feed lot hogs are fed for the purpose of putting on fat, 

 and very little encouragement is offered to exercise. This has a 

 tendency to cut down the breeding qualities, and it is a question 

 whether other breeds will not show a like lack of prolific breeding 

 qualities after they have become used to these same conditions. 



This argument of poor breeding quality has been used very ag- 

 gressively against the Poland-China by advocates of other types, 

 but has probably been somewhat overdrawn by enthusiastic 

 promoters of new breeds. 



As a cross-breeder the Poland-China is an excellent animal. 

 They cross especially well with the ordinary grade sow seen in the 

 Central West, and produce offspring which is compact in form, 

 matures early, and shows excellent outline and unexcelled fatten- 

 ing powers. They also cross well with pure-bred hogs of other 

 breeds, but perhaps not as successfully as in crosses with the grade 

 animals. 



CHESTER-WHITES 



This is also a purely American breed of swine. The origin of 

 the Chester-Whites is Chester and Delaware counties in Pennsyl- 

 vania. Previous to 1820 the breeders of this part of Pennsylvania 

 had been raising for a number of years a large, coarse breed of 

 hogs, which were white in color and which formed the basis for 

 development of the Chester-White breed of to-day. These hogs 



